Improving Performance of IEEE 802.11 by a Dynamic Control Backoff Algorithm Under Unsaturated Traffic Loads

Abstract: The IEEE 802.11 backoff algorithm is very important for controlling system throughput over contentionbased wireless networks. For this reason, there are many studies on wireless network performance focus on developing backoff algorithms. However, most existing models are based on saturated traffic loads, which are not a real representation of actual network conditions. In this paper, a dynamic control backoff time algorithm is proposed to enhance both delay and throughput performance of the IEEE 802.11 distributed coordination function. This algorithm considers the distinction between high and low traffic loads in order to deal with unsaturated traffic load conditions. In particular, the equilibrium point analysis model is used to represent the algorithm under various traffic load conditions. Results of extensive simulation experiments illustrate that the proposed algorithm yields better performance throughput and a better average transmission packet delay than related algorithms.